DeSantis Targets Civil Rights and Activist Groups in Sweeping 'Terrorist' Crackdown
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is weaponizing HB 1471 to label over 90 groups—including civil rights organizations like CAIR and progressive activists such as Antifa—as 'terrorist organizations,' in a move that threatens basic freedoms and targets marginalized communities.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that his administration will exploit the newly enacted HB 1471 to 'identify, designate, and combat terrorist organizations operating in Florida.' This draconian law, which took effect Wednesday, hands sweeping powers to the state’s domestic security chief, allowing them to propose designations that are then rubber-stamped by the governor and Florida Cabinet, bypassing meaningful oversight or due process.
DeSantis revealed that the first wave of designations will target more than 90 groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—a respected civil rights organization—the Muslim Brotherhood, and Antifa, a decentralized anti-fascist movement. Shockingly, the list also includes foreign entities such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Mexican drug cartels, conflating grassroots activism with international criminal organizations. This follows a December executive order that sought to suppress so-called 'radical terrorist ideologies,' a term often used to silence dissent.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass claimed the initiative is about 'public safety' and 'knowledge of threats,' but critics argue it is a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate activists and marginalized communities, while fostering a climate of fear and suspicion. The law also strips designated groups of public support, taxpayer funding, and state benefits, and criminalizes providing material support—measures that could be used to punish peaceful protest and advocacy.
The law further asserts that foreign or religious legal codes cannot override U.S. or Florida constitutions in state courts, a dog whistle to anti-Muslim sentiment. CAIR, which has a long history of defending civil liberties, forcefully rejected the designation, stating it does not engage in terrorist activity and vowing to fight the move in court. The ACLU’s National Security Project also condemned the law, pledging to defend First Amendment rights against this authoritarian overreach.
If the cabinet approves these proposals, the designations will apply under Florida law, but will not carry federal weight, as only the U.S. State Department can make official foreign-terrorist organization listings.
